magic hour
For @choicesapril2025 for the prompt "A reunion or relationship no one saw coming".
Book: Red Carpet Diaries Pairing: Seth Levine/Matt Rodriguez Rating: General Audiences Tags: Pining, Fluff, First Kiss Word Count: 801
Read on AO3
“You should tell him.”
Jessica’s voice startled Seth out of his reverie.
“What?”
Grinning, she cocked her head towards the bar, where Matt was standing.
They were at the premier party of Victoria’s newest movie, and Seth had expected Jessica to stay at her side all evening, but apparently he’d been wrong.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, he tried, and Jessica rolled her eyes.
“Come on now!” She leaned in and lowered her voice, and Seth was grateful for that. “It’s so obvious that you like him.”
Seth sighed. “I really hope not.”
He had always admired Matt, and now that they were friends, he couldn’t help but like him. He knew nothing would ever come off it, Matt would never see him that way, and he had planned to never act on his feelings.
But now he had a guest role in the series Matt was starring in. A love interest for a few episodes.
Seth supposed that he was a shit actor, because kissing Matt didn’t feel like acting at all, it felt real and right and so so good.
Of course it was all an act on Matt’s part, that was his job, Seth knew that, but his heart definitely wasn’t getting the message.
He looked at the bar again, where Matt was laughing with some rising pop starlet that Seth hadn’t bothered to learn the name of. Her hand was on Matt’s arm and she was fluttering her eyelashes, and his traitorous heart squeezed painfully.
“I’m gonna go get some air.”
Jessica looked at the bar, then back at Seth with concern.
“Let me know of I can do anything.”
“Thanks, Iowa, I’ll be fine.” He pasted on a smile, but he knew that she wouldn't buy it, she knew him too well for that.
She nodded slowly. “Okay. Come find me and Victoria when you get back, we’ll get you a drink.”
She squeezed his arm once, then let him go.
Seth was grateful for her friendship, even if it was a little annoying that she could see through him so easily.
He found a little balcony that wasn’t occupied by anyone and leaned on the railing, breathing deeply.
He really needed to get a grip on his feelings, especially if he didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Matt.
He took another deep breath, and just when he thought that he was ready to head back to the party, the balcony door opened.
Seth turned around, and of course it was Matt.
Seth smiled, because despite everything, he would never not be happy to see Matt.
“Needed a break too?”
Matt shrugged. “You know I’m not big fan of these things.”
He came to stand next to Seth at the railing, their arms brushing, and Seth’s heart skipped a beat. He knew it wasn’t intentional, but he just couldn't help himself, slightly leaning into the contact, hoping he wasn’t too obvious.
“You seemed to be having fun.”
Matt frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The pop princess?” Seth didn’t know why he was saying all that. Maybe because he wanted confirmation that his feelings were definitely absolutely one-sided and he should stop dwelling on them, or maybe he just wanted to torture himself.
Matt was still frowning, but then he suddenly leaned in, grinning. “Seth, are you jealous?”
Oh fuck.
“What, no!”, he tried to deny it, but Matt was leaning in even more, his eyes sparkling.
“Because if you are...”
Matt brought up one hand to cup Seth’ cheek, his thumb brushing over his cheekbone.
“Tell me I’m reading this wrong”, he whispered, and Seth couldn’t do anything but lean in too, always pulled towards Matt wherever they were, and then they were kissing.
It was soft and tentative at first, but then Matt seemed to understand that Seth really wanted this, and he got bolder, more passionate.
It occurred to Seth that Matt maybe wasn’t as good an actor as he claimed to be, because there was little difference to how he had kissed him on set. Then he stopped thinking altogether, because Matt had swept his tongue over Seth’ bottom lip, and he easily opened up to him, just focusing on the feel of soft lips on his, the slight stubble under his hands, and the strong body pressed to his.
Finally, they slowed down, and Matt leaned his forehead against Seth’s.
“I didn’t think you’d want this”, he confessed quietly, and Seth chuckled slightly.
“Well, I didn’t think you’d want this.”
Matt pulled back a little to look at him. “Why wouldn’t I? Seth, you’re brilliant. I like you. A lot.”
Seth couldn’t help but smile brightly, sure that he was blushing. “I like you a lot too.”
And when Matt leaned in to kiss him again, his heart soared.
